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DevCell

Run the Demo

This walkthrough runs the end-to-end DevCell workflow without requiring KVM: a real workspace directory, cell-agent, Docker/devcontainer execution, guest commands, ports, checkpoints, and forks. It uses the container backend, so the workspace shares the host kernel.

1. Enter the development environment

Section titled “1. Enter the development environment”

DevCell pins its toolchain with Nix:

Terminal window
nix develop
nix run .#check

You also need Docker running locally.

2. Build the three demo binaries

Section titled “2. Build the three demo binaries”
Terminal window
go build -o /tmp/cell-agent ./cmd/cell-agent
go build -o /tmp/celld ./cmd/celld
go build -o /tmp/devcell ./cmd/devcell

3. Start the control plane

Section titled “3. Start the control plane”
Terminal window
/tmp/celld \
  --http-dev \
  --listen 127.0.0.1:8080 \
  --backend container \
  --agent-bin /tmp/cell-agent \
  --data-dir /tmp/devcell-demo

celld listens on local HTTP for this walkthrough and stores durable state in SQLite. Remove --http-dev to use the default HTTPS mode.

4. Create and start the golden cell

Section titled “4. Create and start the golden cell”

In another shell:

Terminal window
/tmp/devcell cell create \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080 \
  --name golden-path \
  --path examples/workspaces/devcontainer-basic

The response contains a cell ID and operation ID. Use them to inspect both sides of the lifecycle:

Terminal window
/tmp/devcell cell list \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080


/tmp/devcell cell inspect cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080


/tmp/devcell operation watch op_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080


/tmp/devcell cell start cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080

The start operation materializes the fixture, starts cell-agent, and launches the resolved workspace runtime.

5. Work inside the cell

Section titled “5. Work inside the cell”
Terminal window
/tmp/devcell cell exec cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080 -- pwd


/tmp/devcell cell exec cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080 -- sh -lc 'node --version || true'


/tmp/devcell cell list-ports cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080

On the appliance, the same running cell can be opened with Cursor or VS Code:

Terminal window
devcell cell open cell_... --ide cursor --open

6. Checkpoint, fork, and clean up

Section titled “6. Checkpoint, fork, and clean up”
Terminal window
/tmp/devcell snapshot create cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080 --name before-agent


/tmp/devcell cell fork cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080 \
  --snapshot snap_... --name golden-path-fork


/tmp/devcell cell sleep cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080 \
  --snapshot-name end-of-session


/tmp/devcell cell destroy cell_... \
  --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8080 --yes

On this backend, sleep means workspace checkpoint plus stop. Resume is a cold cell start, not a RAM restore.

Inspect the plan without starting a cell

Section titled “Inspect the plan without starting a cell”

Workspace planning turns a project’s devcontainer inputs into the deterministic contract consumed by CellOS:

Terminal window
/tmp/devcell workspace plan \
  examples/workspaces/devcontainer-execution \
  --execution --json

For the scripted public-repository path, see scripts/lattice-cell-e2e.sh. Continue with System Architecture for the appliance request path or Connect JSON API to call the control plane directly.